Page 121 of Scavenger's Oath

I cup her cheek with my free hand, thumb grazing the edge of a fresh bruise. “No, sweetheart. You're hurt.”

She nods slowly, but her hand slides down my bare chest until I have to bite my lip to stop groaning.

“Please, Zane. I can’t stand it any longer. I need to feel you,” she begs softly.

My heart lurches and my thumb twitches over her hardening nipple beneath her shirt. “God, Ivy. I want you… so fucking much. But I don’t want to hurt you. I won’t be able to stop myself…”

“Then don’t,” shepleads so softly it sounds like a prayer.

And fuck if that doesn't make something inside me break and rebuild all at once.

Fuuuck.

Leaning in, I inhale a resigned breath, pressing my forehead to hers. “You have to tell me if anything hurts, okay? Say ‘scavenger’ if it's too much and I’ll stop.”

“Why ‘scavenger’?” she asks, a frown playing with the smile on her face.

“Because I might not hear you if you say ‘stop’, if you cry or beg me… it’ll only turn me on more and your voice won’t get through to me,” I tell her honestly.

If I end up hurting her because I get too lost in my mind, I’ll willingly let Myles and Phoenix execute me.

“Okay. But I trust you.”

My breath shakes as I press my lips to hers, barely a brush at first. Just enough to taste the honey from the concoction Phoenix forced her to drink earlier. Then deeper and she opens for me like she’s been starving for this.

She's warm and soft under my hands. I don't even realise I've stopped shaking until she curls her fingers around the waistband of my combat pants, and I shudder.

“You're allowed to want me,” she whispers against my lips.

Exhaling hard, I grin. “Not like last night.”

“Exactly like last night. Show me the way you wanted me. Show me the things you want to do.” She doesn't say it with fear. She says it with hunger.

Taking my time pulling the blanket off, my hands trail over her waist with reverence.

Depraved thoughts immediately cloud my mind, and I freeze, squeezing my eyes shut.

“Zane,” she says softly. “You're not gonna breakme.”

I arch a brow at her. “Sweetheart, I’m six foot five. I could crush you on a good day… and today is not a good day.”

“I'll be the one to breakyouif you don't stop stalling,” she says impatiently, giving me the cutest little glare.

It shouldn't make me laugh. But it does, real and breathless.

Trailing kisses from the corner of her mouth, across her jaw, down the line of her throat, I feel her heartbeat flutter against my lips.

“You're a goddess,” I groan against her skin. “You deserve better than what I want to do to you.”

Her fingers knit into my hair as I kiss her collarbone, and my hand slides slowly down her stomach to grip the hem of her shirt.

She bites her lip and watches me push her shirt up. Her eyes wide, alive and soft all at once.

“Tell me if I hurt you.”

“You won't.”

Sitting back, I part her thighs gently.